Lubricating system



Aug. 16, 1932. H, A, NKE 1,871,973

LUBRICATING SYSTEM Original Filed Jan. 12, 1928 4 Sheets-Sheet l Gttomeg H. A. FINKE LUBRIQATING SYSTEM Aug. 16, 1932.

Original Filed Jan. 12, 1928 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 attorney Aug.16,l932. H.A.FlNKE 1,871,973-

LUBRICATING SYSTEM Original Filed Jan. 12, 1928 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 Zhmeutor Aug. 16, 1932. H. A. FINKE v 1,871,973

LUBRICATING SYSTEM Original Filed Jan. 12, 1928 4 Sheets-Shet 4 Ihmentor Erma/21A,. ZZZ/1.2% e

Patented Aug. 16, 1932 enema .A. FINKTJ, or ST. 10ers, niss'oum l cesarean-me SYSTEM original application filed ranua'ry =12, 1-928-,'Seri'a1 1o; 2 16;21-3. Divided and this application filed November 1, was. Serial Na. 316,458. v

This invention relates to lubricating sys tems and more particularlyto those for internal combustion engines oft-he rotary type, and has for its object to provide a construction which will be simple inputs and more eflicient in use than those heretofore pro-*- posed, I

With these and other objects in View the invent-ion consists in the novel details of con:

'10 struction and arrangements of parts as will be more fully disclosed hereinafter and particularly pointed out in the claims. 4

This application constitutesadivision of my copending application filed Januaryl-Q,

181928 under the Serial No. 246,213 for improvements in internal combustion engines. Referring to the accompanying drawings forming a part of thisspecificationin which like numerals designate like parts in all the views, I p Fig. 1 is a vertical sectional viewitaken through an engine to which this invention has been applied; H v a Fig. 2 is a transverse sectional View taken as on the line 22 of Fig; 1 and looking in the direction ofthe arrows; Fig. 3 is a verticaltransversesectional View of the oil feeding means takenas on the line 33 of Fig. i4-and looking inthedirection of the arrows; and V p V p Fig. i is -a vertical sectional View taken longitudinally of the engine showing the means for supplying oil forlubricating-the englne.

Briefly this invention'covers a lubricating system which maybe used in connectionwith, for example, an internal combustion engine of the rotary type, consisting of aplurality of cylinders (four being indicated in the drawings) suspended in frames and attached to a valve housing casting to which the valves, sparkplugs, valve, pistons, lubii'icating agitators, and lubricating pumps are attached; Alsozto the said frames are attachedwheel pinions, each adapted to be driven by apiston pitman, said wheels being in mesh with a ring gear rigidly carried: by thestationary housing of the engine. Suitable camsare provided upon a semi-stationary reversing 50 plate mounting at the opposite .end of the casing for acti'i'ating the valves and their stems and also carried by said mountings are the means for creatingthe electrical con-tact or firing the charge offcombustible' fluid used to drive the engine. The exhaust gases from the cylinders are collected inan annular chamber ada ted to registe with suitable exhaustport's in "said engine housing. The means for lubricating the moving parts of the engine is controlled and actuated by thereciprocations of the valvefsteins, and the lubricant used farth r aids in coolin the valve parts. V

Referring more particularly to Fig. l the main shaft ofthe'en ine is represented by the numerall and the enginejhousing I Se cured to one end plate 3 of said housing as by the bolts 4 and concentrically disposed with respect to said main shaft is a bevelled ring gear 5 meshing with bevelled gear pinions 6 each mounted on a stub 7 carried by a cast= ing 8 rigidly disposed on the shaft 1. To each g'ea'r pinion 6 (of which there are as many as there are cylinders to the engine) is secured an outwardly extending crankpin 9 adapted to [receive one end of a pitman 10 the other end of which is mounted on the usual wrist-pin carried by the piston '11 operating ina'cylinder 12'. Thus it will be'seen that as the piston re ciprocates inthe cylinder, thepitman asse ciated therewith will drive its gear pinion which is in mesh with theringlgear'fs, and since the ri g gea is rigidly secured to the engine housing and therefore statie narmthe geanpinions will'be e usedto walk around said ring gear, thus imparting a rotarymotion of the engine with respect t'o' the axis of the main shaft 1. I

The cylinders 12 are mounted in a plurali ty ofparallelly disposed frames or bails gen erally indicated bythe numeral 15 which rigidly mounted onth main naft 1 with suitable s acers 16 between each acent pair of frames, see Fig. 1. Thus it will be seen that a plurality of cylinders can be .su orteciby the, plurality of frames 15 inany particular angular relation and in. conformity with the type of engine desired. In the particular en-' gine illustratedin the drawings, there are indicated four cylinders spaced 90 apart but it is evident that a greater or less number may be employed with appropriate angular spacing therebetween.

Rigidly disposed on the main shaft 1 1s a heavy casting 20, see Fig. 1, which serves not only as a cylinder head and the intake manifold for the engine but also serves as a valve housing. That is to say, this plate or casting 20 is cruciform in shape or in other words, comprises a main central portion with radial extensions or arms 21, one for each cylinder, and the end of each extension is'circular as indicated at 22 to provide a cap or head for each cylinder, see Fig. 3. The casting 20 besides being mounted on the shaft 1 for rotation therewith is secured by a plurality of tie rods 23 of suflicient length to pass through the plurality of frames or bails 15, to the casting 8 which carries the gear pinions 6.

Any suitable means of securement may be utilized, such for example as threading one end of the tie rods into the cylinder head 20 and applying a nut to the other end of each tie rod to draw the members 8, 15, 16 and 20 into tight immovable unity. Secured to said cylinder head as by the bolts 24 is a heavy template collar 25, any suitable packing being provided between said head and collar for making thisjoint leak proof.

The construction of each extension 21 of the valve housing casting 20 is clearly shown in Figs. 1 and 4. In other Words, said casting is cored to provide the exhaust chamber 30 at the extreme end portion of each extension 21 which is separated from the intake chamber 31 as by the wall 32. The inner surface of the exhaust and inlet chamhers is curved as shown in Fig. 4 to more readily direct the intake and exhaust gases to and, from each cylinder so that there may be a substantially unobstructed flow of these gases. The location of the wall 32, which partakes of the nature of a superheater for the incoming fuel, is axial with respect to each cylinder, and on either side of said wall is disposed a valve. The construction will be readily understood with particular reference to the figures of the drawings wherein it will be seen that the valve 33 controls the inlet of fresh fuel for combustion, and the valve 34 controls the exhaust of the burned gases from the cylinder, said exhaust gases passing from the chamber 30 into the annularly formed exhaust manifold 35 which is of substantially U-shaped formation and adapted to rotate with the cylinder head 20.

Each valve is provided with,a stem, see Fig. 4, the extreme end of which is screw threaded into a valve piston. In other words, the inlet valve 33 has a stem 36 (having sliding engagement with the valve guide 37 carried by the cylinder head 20) which extends beyond its guide, the end being screw threaded into the cylindrical piston 40. To

Lennie insure the seating of the valve 33 there is disposed a coil spring 41 between the valve guide 37 and the inner cylindrical wall of the piston 40. The head or closed end of the piston 40 is provided with a yoke 42 carrying a pin vided with a stem passing through a valve guide 51 carried by the cylinder head 20, said stem having secured to its end a piston 52 between which. andthe guide 51 is disposed a coil spring 53. The end of the piston is likewise provided with a yoke 54 carrying a pin 55 on which is rotatably mounted a roller 56 adapted to contact with'a cam track such as 57 as said roller is carried around during the rotation of the engine. It should be stated, however, that the cam tracks 45 and 57 while concentrically disposed are not located to simultaneously operate the two valves 33 and 34, the cam track 45 being in advance. of the track 57. Therefore, the track 45 which would not ordinarily be seen in Fig. 1 has been indicated in dotted lines.

Each arm 21 of the cylinder head 20 is provided with a bore constituting an oil conduit 60 for each cylinder, said conduit extending to the outer end of each arm and provided with a plurality of enlarged portions to receive ball valves for controlling the flow of oil in said conduit. In other words, there is provided a ball valve 61 disposed on the outer side of the exhaust valve, a ball valve 62 disposed between the intake and exhaust valves, and a third ball valve 63 disposed between the intake valve and the tie rods associated with the cylinder head 20.

Each ball is spring pressed as shown, the springs being so disposed as to permit passages of lubricating oil in a direction toward the main shaft 10f the engine only. The extreme outer end of the conduit 60 is provided with any suitable device to scoop a quantity of oil from the'sump and to direct the same to said conduit. In Figure 3 is shown one form of such a device, the same consisting of a tube 64 provided with a plurality of small apertures 65, said tube being diametrically split beyond said apertures to form two portions of the tube each of which is outwardly curved and bent to form the scoops 65 and 67 which, as the engine rotates, dip a slight dis tance below the sump oil level indicated at 68.

The method of lubricating the engine consists in scooping a small quantity of oil by either the member 66 or 67, according to the direction of rotation of the engine, and this oil will be forced toward and through the small apertures 65 to the interior of the tube 64. This action is augmented by the reciprooations of the exhaust and intake valves with their associated pistons 52 and 40 respectively. In other words, and with more and created a'suction in the space within said ofthe intake valve 33.

a the cylinder head K 'Z t to the parts requiring lubrication.

piston. This'suction is sufficient to draw oil past the ball valve 61 and into the piston chamber. 7

When the exhaust valve is forced to open position by its roller 56 again contacting the cam track 57, then the piston 52 is moved toward the right as seen in said figure and th s movement will force oil within the piston chamber past the intermediate ball valve and into the chamber of the piston 40 If said chamber is already filled with oil, some oil will be forced past the innermost ball valve 63 into the conduit 60. This pumping of the oil is thus seen to be alternately accentuated the movements of the: valve pistons 52 and so that said oil is circulated through the cylinder head 20, cooling the same as well as the valve stems and guides therefor.

The innermost end of thegconduit terminates i-nsubstantially the line of the tie rods 23holding the'cylinders and adjacentportions of the engine together, and said terminus connects with the bore of one of said tierods by a cross-passageway 69 drilled in 20. A screw plug 70 is provided in the outer extremity of said passageway to prevent the escape of oil therethrough. One of the recesses in the cylinder head 20 to receive a tie rod 2-3 isslightly enlarged as T at 71 to insure registry of a diametric bore 72 adjacent the end of said tie rod, and this diametricpassage is in open communication with a central bore 73- in said tie rod. In other words, each tie rod 23-is provided with an axial bore 73- communicating with a transverse'bore '22 near one end, said transverse bore of one tie rod: associated with each cylinderadapted to be in direct communicat on withthe lubricating conduit 60 in the cylinder head 20-.v so that oil pumped,

by the valve tie rod. Y

The other end of the lubricant-conveying tie rod is connected as by the pipe conduit In Fig. 1 said conduit 74 is shown leading to the bearing 75 for the bevelled gear pinion 6 and it will bereadily understood that oil, delivered to said hearing will seep therefrom and properly, lubricate not only the pinion '4', but the gears 6 and- 5 and. will pass, by means of a collector ring out on the face of gear 6, to and through a conduit '76 to collector rings on the bearing faceof the pitman 10,- said ringscommunicating with pistons will pass through said the trunnion 9 on which said pitman rides.

Near one end of the casing 2 and rigid therewith is a vertical wall generally indicated by the numeral adapted to carry the cam tracks for controlling the movements of the cylinder valves. Thiswall com-- prises a stationary upper portion, a stationary lower portion, and a central movable portion comprising the slide 83 provided with a central elongated slot through which passesthe main shaft 1. The cam track 45 is mounted. on the slide 83 whereas the cam track 57 is mounted on the lower portion. of the wall 80. The tracks are made of such lengths as to insure contact with the rollers 44 and 56 for a time sufficient to hold. the valves 33 and 34 open for the passage of the inlet and exhaust gases, and further are so positioned on their supporting members that said valves will be operated in proper sequence.

Provision is made for shifting the slide 83 to move the cam track 45' out of, and to bring a similar auxiliary cam track (not shown herein) into, operativeregistry with the roller l4 when a reversal of the directional rotation of the engine is desired In a copending application, of which this is a division, the other features of this rotary engine were fully set forth and described, but reference to a few of said features follow in order that the operation of said engine may be better understood.

This particular engine however, is only illustrated and described as one example of a mechanism to which this lubricating system is applicable since the tem are such that its employment may be extended to other mechanisms,

A cam 98 also carried by the slide 83 ex tends into the rotary path of the carburetors. 100 of which there is one for each engine cylinder, said cam being for the purpose of actuating successively the piston of each car-.

buretor to eject the fuel therefrom into the chamber 31 therefor. The fuel is fed to the conduit 105' toa stationary distributor ring 106 surrounding the main shaft 1, and feeds from said ring radially into a chamber 128 within said shaft from which it passes into principles of said systhe chamber of each carburetor by the action of its piston as well as by centrifugal force, The cam. 98 is adjustably mounted on the slide 83 for positions in accordance with the directional rotation of said engine.

The upper portion of the wall 80 carries two electrical contact members such as shown at 150 either of which can. be swung to assume different operative positions in the circul-ar path of companion electrical contact members 154, of which there isone for each engine cylinder, each member 154. being electrically connected to a. spark plug, 155. The advancement or retardation of the time of the spark with relation tothe rotation of 130 engine from a source of supply through the a time, the other being moved out of clrcular path.

the engine is varied through the swing of each member 150. It should be stated that only one of themembers 150 is in use at said The desired directional rotation of the engine will govern which of the members 150 is to be used.

At the bottom of the casing 2 surrounding the engine there is provided a sump 157 adapt- 5 ed to contain the lubricating oil,

and provided with a casting 160 of trough-like shape and extending upwardly to meet the extending circumferential edges of the exhaust manifold 35, so that the exhaust gases maybe delivered exteriorly of the engine casing. The

annular exhaust chamber 35 is adapted to rotate with the engme'between suitable seals carried bythe casing, such for example as shown at 161 in Fig. 1, and leakage of the ex- 'haust gases into the receiving the engine casing at the lower portion thereof is prevented by side plates 162 covering the joint between the ex haust chamber 35 and the sump casting 160.

The casing 2 is provided with a bearing for shaft 165 of a starting motor, not shown, said shaft having mounted thereon a pinion 166 meshing with a ring gear 167 mounted circumferentially of the cylinder head 20, and said casing is provided with lubricant from a source of supply which is accomplished by the scoops 66 or 67 dipping into the oil of thesump. The remainder of the method comprises feeding this lubricant so obtained to the parts to be lubricated while preventing natural retro-flow of said lubricant.

By this is meant that the scoop abstracts a small portion of oil from the sump and in the revolution of the engine'proper the scoop withits oil is carried upwardly in a circular path, the oil being prevented from leaving the scoop due to the trough-like construction of the latter. When the scoop arrives at a certain point in its circulatory orbit the oil will reach the apertures 65, pass therethrough and by this time the exhaust valve 35 will become operative to cause the piston 52 associated therewith to create a suction which will draw the oil which has just passed through the apertures into the conduit 60 and pass the check valve 61. Upon the opposite movement of said piston 52 the oil entrapped within the cylinder thereof will be forced past the check valve 62 into the cylinder in which operates the piston 40 of the other or intake valve of "the engine, and a reverse flow of thereof. Also it is obvious that the the lubricant is prevented b the aforementioned check valve 61. ,In tfiis connection it might, further be stated that due to the rotation of this engine, centrifugal force will prevail which will have a large tendency to cause the lubricant within the conduit 60 to move axially thereof in a direction toward the scoop 66 and 67, as will be evident and therefor-e the several check. valves 61, 62 and 63 perform a dual function of preventing this natural flow of lubricant in a direction which is opposite to the direction of flow which is desired. Ultimately the lubricant reaches and passes through the conduit 73 within the tie rod 23, enters the bearing 7 5, spreads over the face of the bevel pinion 6, is thrown by centrifugal action to the peripheral teeth thereof to thus lubricate the ring gear 5 and pitman pinion 9. i

The centrifugal action caused b the bevel pinion 6 throws lubricant into tie interior of the cylinder 12 to lubricate the pistonl 1 1 01 1s utilized for lubricating the pistons 40 and 52 as well as the stem guides 37 and 51 of the Valves 33 and 34.

It is obvious that those skilled in the art may vary the details of construction and arrangements of parts constituting the apparatus as well as the steps and combinations of steps constituting the method of lubrication without departing from the spirit of this invention and therefore it is not desired to be limited to the foregoing except as may be required by the claims.

What is claimed is 1. In a rotary engine the combination of a cylinder provided with a head; a valve movable with said cylinder; a conduit associated with said cylinder; means to furnish lubricant to said conduit; and means within the cylinder head to force said lubricant through said conduit saidmeans controlled by the actuation of said valve.

2. In a rotary engine the combination of a cylinder provided with a head; a valve movable with said cylinder; a conduit associated with said cylinder; means carried by said cylinder head to furnish lubricant to said conduit regardless of directional rotation of said engine; and means to force said lubricant through said conduit said means controlled by the actuation of said valve.

3. In a rotary engine the combination of a cylinder; a valve associated with said cylinder; a conduit associated with said cylinder; means comprising a scoop to furnish lubricant to said conduit; and means to force said lubricant through said conduit controlled by the actuation of said valve.

4, In an engine the combination of a cylinder; a valve associated with said cylinder; a conduit associated with said cylinder; means comprising a bifurcated tube with oppositely turned ends to furnish lubricant to said conduit; and means to force said lubricant through said conduit controlled by the actuation of said valve.

5. In an engine the combination of a cylinder; a valve associated with said cylinder; a conduit associated with said cylinder; means comprising a bifurcated tube with oppositely turned ends and an aperture in the cylindrical portion to furnish lubricant to said conduit; and means to force said lubricant through said conduit controlled by the actuation of said valve.

6. In an engine the combination of a cylinder provided with a head; a valve associ-' ated with said cylinder; a conduit associated with said cylinder; means to furnish lubricant to said conduit; and means comprising a piston within the cylinder head to force said lubricant through said conduit controlled by the actuation of said valve.

7. In an engine the combination of a cylinder provided with a head; a valve associated With said cylinder; a conduit associated with said cylinder; means to furnish lubricant to said conduit; and means within the cylinder head and including a ball check in said conduit and a piston coaxial with said valve to force said lubricant through said conduit.

8. In an engine the combination of a plurality of cylinders oined to a common rotatable head; a valve for each cylinder in said head; a conduit for each cylinder in said head, said conduits for conducting lubricant to said cylinders; and means carried by said head for supplying lubricant to and through each conduit.

9. In an engine the combination of a plurality of cylinders joined to a common rotatable head; a valve for each cylinder in said head; a conduit for each cylinder in said head, said conduits for conducting lubricant to said cylinders; and separate means carried by said head for supplying lubricant to and through each conduit.

10. In an engine the combination of a plurality of cylinders joined to a common rotatable head; a valve for each cylinder in said head; a conduit for each cylinder in said head, said conduits for conducting lubricant to said cylinders; and means carried by said head for supplying lubricant each conduit separately.

In testimony whereof I ai'fix my signature.

HERMAN A. FINKE.

to and through 

